The present invention relates to structure of a band (or a belt) having a buckle at its joint edge section, and more specifically relates to a band used as a head band for a helmet, a watch band, a band for trousers or a skirt, or a band for shoes or a bag.
The present invention also relates to a buckle for locking a band having an engagement groove, and more specifically to a buckle for a band or a belt such as a head band for a helmet, a watch band, a band for trousers or a skirt, or a band for shoes or a bag.
A head band for a helmet is set around a head of a wearer and plays a role for locking the helmet to the head.
FIG. 3 shows an ordinary helmet 1 for working, and is a perspective view in section showing a cap body 2, an internal setting body 4 penetrating a liner 3 adhered thereto for absorbing shock. The setting body 4 comprises a cross-like hammock 5, a head band 10 connected in a circular form, and a jaw strap 6, and this setting body 4 is set via brackets 7, 7 to the cap 2 to form the helmet 1.
It is necessary to adjust a peripheral length of the head band 10 for adjusting the size to the size of the wearer""s head. In this example based on the conventional technology, a number of small projections 8, 8 . . . are provided at an even space in one edge section of the head band 10, while small holes engaging with the small projections 8, 8 . . . respectively are provided in the longitudinal direction of the head band 10, and the peripheral length can be adjusted by engaging the projections in the small holes appropriately.
As the sizes of the small projections and small holes are small, it is not easy to set or remove the headband 10, and the work for adjusting the head band 10 in the rear section of the head is extremely difficult when the helmet 1 is set on the wearer""s head.
On the other hand, when it is required to adjust a peripheral length of a head band, a size-adjustable band employing the pinion rack system therein (Refer to Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 8-27613), or a head band for a helmet in which a worm screw mechanism is incorporated on the head band for enabling fine adjustment (Refer to Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 7-293515) is available.
The head band adjustment mechanism shave, however, the defect that, as the construction becomes more complicated, the weight of the helmet disadvantageously increases.
When any of a watch, an arm ring, a portable information terminal such as a personal computer, a tonometer, trousers, or a skirt is worn around wearer""s arm, leg, or trunk, the peripheral length is adjusted with the band in loading on or off. It is not easy, however, to loading on or off the band with a single hand, and especially it is extremely difficult to adjust the band in the rear section of the wearer""s head which is hardly visible, during night, or at a dark place.
In a case of a watch band, sometimes an intermediate catch is provided in the middle of the watch band so that the wearer can set the band or remove it with one hand by operating the catch with claws of finger tips. However, the work for loading on or off a watch with the intermediate catch is difficult for a person with short claws or a person with a weak power, and improvement of the intermediate catch will result in complication of its mechanism and structure.
Further there has been known a buckle with an engagement groove, in which a buckle hook is resiliently hooked. In this type of buckle, the wearer can disengage the hooking at will.
FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing a representative buckle of this type. A buckle body 51 comprises a bottom plate 52 and side plates 53, 53 and has a substantially -shaped cross section. Shaft 54 is spanned over the side plates 53, 53 with a cover piece 55 attached to the shaft 54. An edge 55A of the cover piece 55 is biased by a coil spring 56 to the bottom plate 52, and the other edge 55B of the cover piece 55 is used as a section for pressing. Further the buckle has a hole 57 or the like, which is used for attaching the buckle to a basic body of a bag, shoes, or various types of bands. On the other hand, in a band used as a pair with the buckle, engagement grooves each having a cross section like saw teeth and extending in the longitudinal direction are provided side by side, and the band is inserted into a space formed between the buckle body 51 and the cover piece 55.
With the buckle structure as described above, when the band is passed through the space, the band pushes the cover piece 55 upward against a springing force of the coil spring 56, and when insertion of the band is stopped at a desired fastening position, an edge 55A of the cover piece 55 hooks in the engagement groove of the band, and movement of the band in the pulling-off direction is limited. When pulling off the band, the other edge 55B of the cover piece 55 is pushed down to the buckle body 51, and with this operation the edge 55A is raised from the engagement groove of the band, thus the band being disengaged from the buckle.
The conventional type of buckles have many components, so that the work for assembling the buckle is time-consuming and complicated, and in addition the buckles are metallic, so that the weight is heavy. Therefore such types of buckles can not satisfy the current demands for weight reduction. In addition, as the mechanism for releasing the engagement between the buckle and the band by pressing from upside of the buckle body to the bottom plate is employed, and because of this structural feature, sometimes the band may be disengaged from the buckle due to unexpected contact of the buckle to something.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a buckle and a band with this buckle based on a simple structure which can easily be loaded on or off.
In one embodiment, the band according to the present invention has a protruding section for engagement at its one edge section and a recessed section also for engagement at the other edge section thereof, and is connected into a circular form by engaging the two sections for engagement and sliding the two edge sections to adjust its peripheral length. When the protruding section for engagement is hooked in the recessed section for engagement, the other edge section can freely move forward against the one edge section, but can not move backward, and a pair of hooking sections, with which the wearer can pull up the two edge sections with fingers of a hand, is provided at the two edge sections on a top surface of the band.
In another embodiment, the band according to the present invention has a groove for engagement at its one edge section and a claw for engagement at the other edge section, and is set into a circular form by engaging the engagement groove with the engagement claw and sliding the two edge sections of the band for adjusting the peripheral length. A resilient piece having the engagement claw is provided in parallel to the other edge section, and when the engagement claw is hooked in the engagement groove, the one edge section can freely move forward against the other edge section, but can not move backward. However, the engagement can be disengaged from the engagement groove by operating the resilient piece, and the resilient piece is made from a material harder than the material for the two edge sections of the band.
The buckle made from synthetic resin according to the present invention has a buckle body and an operation plate. The buckle body comprises a bottom plate, a ceiling frame opposite to the bottom plate and two side plates connecting the bottom plate and the ceiling frame to each other, and the buckle body has a space for insertion of a band with an engagement groove. The operation plate is provided inside the ceiling frame in the horizontal position and has an engagement claw for engagement with the engagement groove of the band on a bottom surface of its one edge and a top surface at the other edge used as a pressed section. By jointing the operation plate to opposite two edges of the ceiling frame at a middle point between the engagement claw and the pressed section, the operation plate can freely be swung at the middle point as a fulcrum.